Write One Page Per Day – 121/365 – May 1, 2018

“I’ve got everything I could find on soul transfers, magical polymorphs, shape-changers, and Sentient Objects.” Mildred said as she dropped the books on the table, which seemed to barely be able to handle the blow. “It would have been easier if I knew what exactly we were dealing with – Oh my, I’m sorry dear, I didn’t see you there. My name is Mildred. What’s the nature of your problem?”

“It’s actually more of a us problem.” Mario said, cutting off Jeff as he opened his mouth.

“What do you mean?” Mildred said, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

“I need you to remain calm -” Mario began.

“Cindy is the statue,” Jeff blurted, “I was kidnapped by these men posing as police officers, and they drugged me. I came to in the basement of a theater, surrounded by these statues and just by luck I found this one, which turned out to be Cindy. I’m sorry.”

Mildred snatched the statue out of his lap before he could even flinch. She began examining it, looking over every inch of the statue.

“Is it just me, or -”

“She’s able to warm and cool herself,” Jeff said, “That’s how I was able to contact Mario.”

“Alright, Jeff, I need details,” Mario said, “I need to know exactly what you saw, heard, smelled, etcetera. It will help us to figure out what happened to Cindy, and potentially help us get her back to normal.”

Jeff gave Mario as detailed a description as he could of the carpets, the lights, the statues, and the voice in the darkness. With each detail uttered, Mildred would toss a book across the table away from her. When Jeff finished speaking, there were only two books remaining. Dark Gods and How to Fight Them and So You’ve Turned Yourself into a Chair.

“Who would be able to read that book?” Jeff asked, pointing to the latter, “If you’re a chair, how can you read?”

“It’s complicated,” Mildred replied pulling the first of the two books towards her. “I think this one is going to be more useful.”

“You think it’s a dark god then?” Mario asked.

“It seems like the most likely solution. An untethered voice that becomes a slithering creature before consuming your body and trapping your soul in a statue.” Mildred said, “Give me some time with the book, and my daughter, and I’ll find the answer we need.”

“You look like you could use some rest, Jeff.” Mario said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Jeff snapped, “It’s just a lot to process in such a short time. Right now, Cindy is my priority. The statue is not leaving my sight.”

“This one’s a keeper,” Mildred muttered to the statue with a wink at Jeff.